Signal Transfer Research Articles

A novel multi-morphological representation approach for multi-source EEG signals

Advances in artificial intelligence have significantly enhanced intelligent assistance and rehabilitation medicine by leveraging electroencephalogram (EEG) signal recognition. Nevertheless, eliminating cross-subject variability remains a significant challenge in expending the application of EEG signal recognition to the broader society. The transfer learning strategy has been utilized to address this issue; however, multi-source domains are often treated as a single entity in transfer learning, leading to underutilization of the information from multiple sources. Furthermore, many EEG signal transfer approaches overlook the low-dimensional structural information and multivariate statistical features inherent in EEG signals, leading to inadequate interpretability and suboptimal performance. Thus, in this study, a novel multi-morphological representation approach (MMRA) was proposed for multi-source EEG signal recognition to address these issues. MMRA utilized multi-manifold mapping to extract the common invariant representation shared between the multi-source domains and target domain. It took into account the low-dimensional structure and multivariate statistical features of EEG signals to enhance the acquisition of high-quality common invariant representations. Subsequently, the multi-source domains were decomposed to extract one-to-one features. The Maximum Mean Discrepancy (MMD) loss was further applied to guide the model in obtaining high-quality private invariant representations. The performance of the proposed MMRA method was evaluated using three publicly available motor imagery datasets and a driving fatigue dataset. Experimental results demonstrated that our proposed MMRA method outperformed other state-of-the-art methods in scenarios involving multiple subjects. In conclusion, the MMRA method developed in this study can serve as a novel tool offering enhanced performance to analyze EEG signals across various subjects.

Utilizing the mutant library to investigate the functional characterization of GhGLR3.4 regulating jasmonic acid to defense pest infestation.

The glutamate receptor (GLR) serves as a ligand-gated ion channel that plays a vital role in plant growth, development, and stress response. Nevertheless, research on GLRs in cotton is still very limited. The present study conducted a comprehensive analysis of GLRs gene family in cotton. In total, 41 members of the GLR family were identified in cotton unveiling distinct subgroups in comparison to Arabidopsis. Among these members, the third subgroup highlights its pivotal role in cotton's defense against insect infestation. Furthermore, the CRISPR/Cas9 system was utilized to create a mutant library of GLR members, which consisted of a total of 135 independent mutant lines, resulting in the production of novel cotton materials with valuable breeding potential for pest control. Further, this study elucidates the influence of GhGLR3.4 on jasmonic acid (JA) pathway signal transduction and demonstrated its participation in the influx of intracellular Ca2+, which regulates "calcium transients" following stimulation, thereby influencing multiple intracellular reactions. The study also found that GhGLR3.4 influences the synthesis of the JA pathway and actively partakes in long-distance signal transmission among plants, facilitating the transfer of defense signals to neighbor leaves and thereby triggering systemic defense. Consequently, this research advances our knowledge of plants' comprehensive defense mechanism against insect pest infestation.

Experimental and Simulated Investigation of S-parameters and Power Loss Characteristics of PTFE/Glass Composites at X-band Frequency

Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)-based substrates are in high demand for high-frequency (microwave) applications because of their low relative permittivity, enabling efficient signal transfer. In this work, PTFE composites have been prepared with different content (5 wt.% - 25 wt.%) of soda lime silica glass (SLSG) for substrate application. The composites were characterized by their complex permittivity and S-parameters through the rectangular waveguide (RWG) measurement method over x-band frequency (8.2 GHz – 12.4 GHz). The RWG set-up was connected to a vector network analyser for the characterization. Power loss of the composites due to material absorption was calculated using the measured S-parameters. As the content of the SLSG increased from 5 - 25 wt.%, complex permittivity rose from 2.18-j0.0035 to 2.56-j0.0047 in the frequency range considered. In addition, |S11| reduced from 0.623 and 0.700 to 0.418 and 0.441, whereas |S21| varied from 0.780 and 0.713 to 0.906 and 0.895 for 5 wt.% and 25 wt.% SLSG contents at 8.2 GHz and 12.4 GHz, respectively. The calculated power loss increased from 2.94 dB to 3.29 dB and 4.01 dB to 4.88 dB for the same filler contents and frequency. Furthermore, the S-parameters were simulated using the finite element method (FEM) via COMSOL software and compared with the measured values. The comparison revealed a mean relative error of < 0.1, denoting the accuracy of the RWG method. Also, the electric field distribution across the waveguide length was visualized. Thus, the optimal performance of the composite was found at 5 wt.% SLSG filler content for microwave substrate application.

Zucchini yellow mosaic virus-induced hypersensitive response is associated with pathogenesis-related 1 protein expression and confers resistance in watermelon.

The pathogenesis-related 1 gene of watermelon responds to the infection of ZYMV and contributes to the resistance of its host. Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV; family Potyviridae) is a single-stranded positive-sense RNA virus that is a serious threat to cucurbits. Previously, we observed a hypersensitivity response (HR) in the systemic leaves of the 938-16-B watermelon line infected with ZYMV, distinct from the typical HR at infected sites. In this study, we confirmed that ZYMV accumulation in 938-16-B was significantly lower than in the susceptible line H1. Upon inoculation, the entry of ZYMV-eGFP into mesophyll cells is restricted into necrotic spots in leaves, indicating that resistance to ZYMV in 938-16-B is linked to the HR. Further, grafting experiments between 938-16-B and susceptible varieties were performed, and revealed an HR induction in susceptible varieties, suggesting the transfer of resistance signal(s) from 938-16-B to susceptible varieties. Through RNA-sequencing and proteomics analyses of the H1 scions on 938-16-B rootstock, a pathogenesis-related 1 (ClPR1) gene was identified. Specifically, ClPR1 expression is unique to ZYMV-infected 938-16-B. Repression of the expression of ClPR1 prevents an HR in 938-16-B. Conversely, overexpression of ClPR1 in susceptible varieties significantly reduces ZYMV accumulation, but an HR was not induced in susceptible line. Besides the virus, jasmonic acid (JA) can also trigger an HR in 938-16-B. Intriguingly, the expression of ClPR1 (Cla97C02G034020) is induced in both of 938-16-B and H1 by MeJA, rather than salicylic acid. These results suggest that HR is associated with the expression of ClPR1 and contributes to resistance to ZYMV in 938-16-B.

Input / Output Relationships for the Primary Hippocampal Circuit.

The hippocampus is the most studied brain region but little is known about signal throughput -- the simplest, yet most essential of circuit operations -- across its multiple stages from perforant path input to CA1 output. Using hippocampal slices derived from male mice, we have found that single-pulse lateral perforant path (LPP) stimulation produces a two-part CA1 response generated by LPP projections to CA3 ('direct path') and the dentate gyrus ('indirect path'). The latter, indirect path was far more potent in driving CA1 but did so only after a lengthy delay. Rather than operating as expected from the much discussed trisynaptic circuit argument, the indirect path used the massive CA3 recurrent collateral system to trigger a high frequency sequence of fEPSPs and spikes. The latter events promoted reliable signal transfer to CA1 but the mobilization time for the stereotyped, CA3 response resulted in surprisingly slow throughput. The circuit transmitted theta (5Hz) but not gamma (50Hz) frequency input, thus acting as a low-pass filter. It reliably transmitted short bursts of gamma input separated by the period of theta wave - CA1 spiking output under these conditions closely resembled the input signal. In all, the primary hippocampal circuit does not behave as a linear, three-part system but instead uses novel filtering and amplification steps to shape throughput and restrict effective input to select patterns. We suggest that the operations described here constitute a default mode for processing cortical inputs with other types of functions being enabled by projections from outside the extended hippocampus.Significance statement Despite intense interest in hippocampal contributions to behavior, surprisingly little is known about how signals are processed across the network linking cortical input to CA1 output. Here, we describe the first input/output relationship for the system with results challenging the traditional tri-synaptic circuit concept. Signal throughput requires mobilization of recurrent activity within CA3 to amplify sparse input from the dentate gyrus into an unexpectedly stereotyped composite response. Potent low-pass filters determine effective input patterns. These results open the way to new analyses of how variables such as aging affect hippocampus and its contributions to behavior while providing material needed for biologically realistic models of the structure.

Resistive Heating and Thermal Decomposition of an Additively Manufacturable Electrically Conductive Explosive

AbstractThe ability to transmit electrical signals through high explosive charges without using dense metal conductors could enable continuous monitoring of explosive charges with internally embedded sensors. With the sensor materials themselves being energetic, the impact on the intended detonation performance of the charge can be minimized. Embedded sensors enable real time, in‐situ measurements of conditions relevant to ageing assessments. Additionally, dynamic material property sensing can provide detonation performance data, enabling measurement of dynamic shock position. One proposed method to allow for electronic signal transfer through high explosives is to use electrically conductive explosive composites consisting of an electrically conductive polymer binder mixed with high explosive crystals. These conductive energetic pathways also serve as independently reactive elements and can provide additional functionality via dynamic sensor removal through resistive heating and subsequent decomposition. This work discusses the resistive heating of a previously developed, poly (3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) based, electrically conductive extrudable explosive composite. Experimental samples of the conductive explosive material were subjected to a range of direct current applications and the resulting heating and decomposition of the material is discussed.

Photoreceptor-Like Signal Transduction Between Polymer-Based Protocells.

Deciphering inter- and intracellular signaling pathways is pivotal for understanding the intricate communication networks that orchestrate life's dynamics. Communication models involving bottom-up construction of protocells are emerging but often lack specialized compartments sufficiently robust and hierarchically organized to perform spatiotemporally defined signaling. Here, the modular construction of communicating polymer-based protocells designed to mimic the transduction of information in retinal photoreceptors is presented. Microfluidics is used to generate polymeric protocells subcompartmentalized by specialized artificial organelles. In one protocell population, light triggers artificial organelles with membrane-embedded photoresponsive rotary molecular motors to set off a sequence of reactions starting with the release of encapsulated signaling molecules into the lumen. Intercellular communication is mediated by signal transfer across membranes to protocells containing catalytic artificial organelles as subcompartments, whose signal conversion can be modulated by environmental calcium. Signal propagation also requires selective permeability of the diverse compartments. By segregating artificial organelles in distinct protocells, a sequential chain of reactions mediating intercellular communication is created that is further modulated by adding extracellular messengers. This connective behavior offers the potential for a deeper understanding of signaling pathways and faster integration of proto- and living cells, with the unique advantage of controlling each step by bio-relevant signals.

In situ construction of oriented Au/PPy nanorod arrays-based aptasensor for fast and ultrasensitive determination of thrombin

The dynamic changes in coagulation function indicators provide important references for early warning, disease progression, and prognosis evaluation of clinical cardio-cerebrovascular disease (CCVD) patients. However, current assay methods, such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), fluorescence immunoassay and colorimetry, are time-consuming, require bulky equipment, tedious operations, and long analytical period, which are difficult in achieving an on-site and rapid detection. To address above issues, we proposed an ultrasensitive and fast-responded aptasensor for the detection of a typical coagulation function indicator (Thrombin, Tob) through constructing a unique oriented Au/polypyrrole (PPy) nanorod arrays. This architecture has provided both high electrocatalysis and abundant active sites as the signal transfer and DNA carrier. Meanwhile, through the specific DNA-binding representative design, we also designed a target-induced chain release strategy based on the competitive interaction between Tob and cDNA, which remarkably accelerated the Tob recognition process. This aptasensor enables to present an ultralow detection limit of 3 fg/mL and fast detection time of 20 min in real human serum samples, together with the favorable repeatability, stability and anti-interference ability for early warning and prognosis prediction of CCVD. It is promising that this aptasensor can be extended to analyze more disease markers through the change of different bases sequence of the applied DNA stands, which will provide an on-site and convenient technique and device for clinical disease diagnosis.

Fiber-optic radio frequency transfer with enhanced frequency stability using fiber Brillouin amplifiers.

The frequency stability of long-distance two-way fiber-optic radio frequency (RF) transfer is directly affected by the optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) of optical amplifiers. In this paper, we have proposed a stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS)-based optical amplification scheme with high OSNR for two-way fiber-optic RF frequency transfer over single mode fibers (SMF). At the remote and local site, the modulated carrier transferred from the opposite was amplified and then frequency upshifted by Brillouin frequency shift (BFS) for pump generation. This approach can avoid the use of additional pump lasers and phase-locked loops for wavelength stabilization of the pump. The pump was injected into the fiber link and counter-propagated with the signal to amplify the modulated carrier. A 2.2 GHz RF signal transfer with the proposed SBS-based optical amplification schemes was demonstrated over a 100 km fiber link. The experimental results illustrated that the OSNR was increased by 35 dB and 32 dB at the local site and the remote site, respectively, compared to the results obtained with erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFA)-based optical amplification. Benefiting from improved OSNR, the frequency stability was increased by more than one order of magnitude below 1000 s averaging time, and the phase noise was reduced to the noise floor below 0.1 Hz offset frequency. The proposed optical signal amplification approach has a potential application for transferring atomic clocks over long-haul fiber links.

Analytical modelling and analysis of the meander-line coil EMATs

The meander-line coil electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT) is widely used in the field of ultrasonic nondestructive testing due to its convenience to generate specific mode of guided waves. Some design methods of the meander-coil EMATs are developed in the frequency-wavenumber domain while others in the time–space domain. In this paper, a unified theoretical framework is developed by proposing an analytical model from the system perspective. Signal transfers between different physical fields in EMAT excitation, wave propagation and EMAT reception are represented as linear time–space-invariant systems. Taking the Rayleigh wave EMAT detection as an example, the analytical model for the transfer functions of these systems is established. The analytical model is experimentally verified by different Rayleigh wave detection techniques: the conventional EMAT, the spatial pulse compression (SPC) EMAT, temporal-spatial pulse compression (TSPC) EMAT and detection cases employing the same receiving EMAT. From the system perspective, the received signal of EMAT is interpreted as the response of the filter system to the input signal. It is found that the meander-coil EMAT can be regarded as the frequency domain expression during the detection. And the frequency domain expression plays different roles in different techniques.

Multiple-Access Time and Frequency Transfer over Fiber and Free-Space Link Based on Optical Frequency Comb

We have demonstrated a multiple-access transfer of time and frequency signal over a fiber and free-space link based on an optical frequency comb (OFC). With this transfer technique, two time–frequency signals were disseminated separately from a master site to two slave sites over a 3.9 km fiber and 100 m free-space link for 10,000 s. The timing fluctuations and instabilities of the time and frequency transfer were measured, estimated, and discussed. The experimental results show that the total root-mean-square (RMS) timing fluctuation of the transfer from site A to B is about 119 ps, with a fractional frequency instability on the order of 3.3 × 10−11 at 1 s and 2.8 × 10−14 at 2000 s. The RMS timing fluctuation of the transfer from site A to C is about 59.5 ps, with a fractional frequency instability on the order of 3.0 × 10−11 at 1 s and 2.6 × 10−14 at 2000 s. These results indicate that the multiple-access transfer technique proposed in this paper can provide important support for the application of a large-scale time–frequency synchronization network.

Reward-driven cerebellar climbing fiber activity influences both neural and behavioral learning.

The cerebellum plays a key role in motor coordination and learning. In contrast with classical supervised learning models, recent work has revealed that CFs can signal reward-predictive information in some behaviors. This raises the question of whether CFs may also operate according to principles similar to those described by reinforcement learning models. To test how CFs operate during reward-guided behavior, and evaluate the role of reward-related CF activity in learning, we have measured CF responses in Purkinje cells of the lateral cerebellum during a Pavlovian task using 2-photon calcium imaging. Specifically, we have performed multi-stimulus experiments to determine whether CF activity meets the requirements of a reward prediction error (rPE) signal for transfer from an unexpected reward to a reward-predictive cue. We find that once CF activity is transferred to a conditioned stimulus, and there is no longer a response to reward, CFs cannot generate learned responses to a second conditioned stimulus that carries the same reward prediction. In addition, by expressing the inhibitory opsin GtACR2 in neurons of the inferior olive, and optically inhibiting these neurons across behavioral training at the time of unexpected reward, we find that the transfer of CF signals to the conditioned stimulus is impaired. Moreover, this optogenetic inhibition also impairs learning, resulting in a deficit in anticipatory lick timing. Together, these results indicate that CF signals can exhibit several characteristics in common with rPEs during reinforcement learning, and that the cerebellum can harness these learning signals to generate accurately timed motor behavior.

Seasonal influence on miRNA expression dynamics of extracellular vesicles in equine follicular fluid.

Ovarian follicular fluid (FF) is a dynamic environment that changes with the seasons, affecting follicle development, ovulation, and oocyte quality. Cells in the follicles release tiny particles called extracellular vesicles (EVs) containing vital regulatory molecules, such as microRNAs (miRNAs). These miRNAs are pivotal in facilitating communication within the follicles through diverse signaling and information transfer forms. EV-coupled miRNA signaling is implicated to be associated with ovarian function, follicle and oocyte growth and response to various environmental insults. Herein, we investigated how seasonal variations directly influence the ovulatory and anovulatory states of ovarian follicles and how are they associated with follicular fluid EV-coupled miRNA dynamics in horses. Ultrasonographic monitoring and follicular fluid aspiration of preovulatory follicles in horses during the anovulatory (spring: non-breeding) and ovulatory (spring, summer, and fall: breeding) seasons and subsequent EV isolation and miRNA profiling identified significant variation in EV-miRNA cargo content. We identified 97 miRNAs with differential expression among the groups and specific clusters of miRNAs involved in the spring transition (miR-149, -200b, -206, -221, -328, and -615) and peak breeding period (including miR-143, -192, -451, -302b, -100, and let-7c). Bioinformatic analyses showed enrichments in various biological functions, e.g., transcription factor activity, transcription and transcription regulation, nucleic acid binding, sequence-specific DNA binding, p53 signaling, and post-translational modifications. Cluster analyses revealed distinct sets of significantly up- and down-regulated miRNAs associated with spring anovulatory (Cluster 1) and summer ovulation-the peak breeding season (Clusters 4 and 6). The findings from the current study shed light on the dynamics of FF-EV-coupled miRNAs in relation to equine ovulatory and anovulatory seasons, and their roles in understanding the mechanisms involved in seasonal shifts and ovulation during the breeding season warrant further investigation.

Readout circuit noise analysis and low-noise design for piezoelectric micro-machined ultrasonic transducers with large parasitic capacitance.

Readout circuits are fundamental components in many application systems that utilize piezoelectric micro-machined ultrasonic transducers (pMUTs). This study models the noise and signal transfer functions of trans-impedance amplifiers (TIAs), charge-sensitive circuits, and voltage-mode readout circuits in detail. A series of simulations and experiments were conducted to elucidate the advantages and disadvantages of these circuit types. Both theoretical and experimental results indicate that the intrinsic capacitance of large pMUTs can significantly degrade the quality of the readout signal. Furthermore, while the TIA-based readout circuit demonstrates clear gain advantages, it is also susceptible to considerable noise interference. This work proposes an improved readout circuit design that effectively mitigates noise interference while preserving the gain advantages of the TIA architecture. The implemented prototype circuit successfully reduces the noise from 73 mVp-p to 13 mVp-p.

Center-concave nanosheets of core-shell WO3@Prussian blue based handheld microchip-devices for ultrasensitive lysine determination

Lysine is one of the essential amino acids for human body, and its imbalance is a major cause to anemia, aging process, leukemia cell proliferation and tumor growth. Therefore, its monitoring is dominative to the prevention the disease progress and guidance to the clinical treatment. However, traditional in-hospital detection methods, such as colorimetry and fluorometric, often suffer the disadvantages of high cost and long time-consuming. These drawbacks show a difficulty in the home-in and dairy monitoring for the lysine regulation in body. In this study, we have proposed an ultrasensitive microchip-based portable device to achieve the onsite and precise determination of lysine within only 10 s. This microchip was functionalized through constructing a center-concave nanosheet of core-shell WO3@Prussian blue (WO3@PB) to remarkably strengthen the generation and transfer of the detection signal. In this special architecture, the core WO3 nanosheet can be exposed at the center region of this nanocomposite to effectively promote the enzymatic oxidation, while the PB shell enables to strongly reduce the H2O2 produced by the enzymatic reaction. Under above synergetic effects, a handheld device was designed to support the plug-and-play microchip, which performed an outstanding accuracy for the lysine detection in blood.

Remotely Powered Two-Wire Cooperative Sensors for Bioimpedance Imaging Wearables.

Bioimpedance imaging aims to generate a 3D map of the resistivity and permittivity of biological tissue from multiple impedance channels measured with electrodes applied to the skin. When the electrodes are distributed around the body (for example, by delineating a cross section of the chest or a limb), bioimpedance imaging is called electrical impedance tomography (EIT) and results in functional 2D images. Conventional EIT systems rely on individually cabling each electrode to master electronics in a star configuration. This approach works well for rack-mounted equipment; however, the bulkiness of the cabling is unsuitable for a wearable system. Previously presented cooperative sensors solve this cabling problem using active (dry) electrodes connected via a two-wire parallel bus. The bus can be implemented with two unshielded wires or even two conductive textile layers, thus replacing the cumbersome wiring of the conventional star arrangement. Prior research demonstrated cooperative sensors for measuring bioimpedances, successfully realizing a measurement reference signal, sensor synchronization, and data transfer though still relying on individual batteries to power the sensors. Subsequent research using cooperative sensors for biopotential measurements proposed a method to remove batteries from the sensors and have the central unit supply power over the two-wire bus. Building from our previous research, this paper presents the application of this method to the measurement of bioimpedances. Two different approaches are discussed, one using discrete, commercially available components, and the other with an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The initial experimental results reveal that both approaches are feasible, but the ASIC approach offers advantages for medical safety, as well as lower power consumption and a smaller size.

Extreme precipitation reduces the recent photosynthetic carbon isotope signal detected in ecosystem respiration in an old-growth temperate forest.

The successful utilization of stable carbon isotope approaches in investigating forest carbon dynamics has relied on the assumption that the carbon isotope compositions (δ13C) therein have detectable temporal variations. However, interpreting the δ13C signal transfer can be challenging, given the complexities involved in disentangling the effect of a single environmental factor, the isotopic dilution effect from background CO2 and the lack of high-resolution δ13C measurements. In this study, we conducted continuous in situ monitoring of atmospheric CO2 (δ13Ca) across a canopy profile in an old-growth temperate forest in northeast China during the normal year 2020 and the wet year 2021. Both years exhibited similar temperature conditions in terms of both seasonal variations and annual averages. We tracked the natural carbon isotope composition from δ13Ca to photosynthate (δ13Cp) and to ecosystem respiration (δ13CReco). We observed significant differences in δ13Ca between the two years. Contrary to in 2020, in 2021 there was a δ13Ca valley in the middle of the growing season, attributed to surges in soil CO2 efflux induced by precipitation, while in 2020 values peaked during that period. Despite substantial and similar seasonal variations in canopy photosynthetic discrimination (Δ13Ccanopy) in the two years, the variability of δ13Cp in 2021 was significantly lower than in 2020, due to corresponding differences in δ13Ca. Furthermore, unlike in 2020, we found almost no changes in δ13CReco in 2021, which we ascribed to the imprint of the δ13Cp signal on above-ground respiration and, more importantly, to the contribution of stable δ13C signals from soil heterotrophic respired CO2. Our findings suggest that extreme precipitation can impede the detectability of recent photosynthetic δ13C signals in ecosystem respiration in forests, thus complicating the interpretation of above- and below-ground carbon linkage using δ13CReco. This study provides new insights for unravelling precipitation-related variations in forest carbon dynamics using stable isotope techniques.

SWITCHING RIPPLE DATA TRANSFER TECHNIQUE USING STEP-DOWN DC-DC CONVERTER

This paper describes an electronic communication method based on the use of the DC-DC converter as a data transfer device. Output voltage of a DC-DC converter is modulated with Amplitude-Shift Keying (ASK) signal carrier. Modulation takes place in the feedback loop of the DC-DC converter. The output signal passes through the transition line to the band pass filter, where unexpected noise and DC components are removed. Transition line is represented as a long wire with a certain length that contains active and reactive parasitic parameters. These parameters affect Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) of the initial ASK signal waveform. Switching ripple communications are introduced to simplify electrical connection and reduce the wire count. This makes it particularly suitable for Internet of Things (IoT) applications in challenging environments where RF may be weak or unreliable. Nowadays wiring is an expensive part of electronic products. Industry leading companies usually spend sufficient resources on wiring production and installation work. Switching ripple communication modules can reduce a final product price and increase reliability. Also, these systems can be easily implemented to existing designs because power line communication devices do not require additional signal pass conductors or additional RF modules for data transfer. The proposed communication method can be used in such industries as: battery management systems, industrial lightning control, automotive or even in high performance power supplies for telecom solutions. The purpose of this paper is to create a signal transfer model and show a dependency between transition wire length and total harmonic distortion parameter, which affects output signal. Low THD parameter is important for carrier signal decode operations. After the filtering stage ASK signal usually passes to the Microcontroller unit through the Analog to Digital converter (ADC) block. By increasing carrier signal THD the ADC effective number of bits (ENOB) parameter will be affected. As a result, all further signal processing stages such as digital filtering and calculations will take more hardware resources.

The effects of Cd2+ and Cu2+ on characteristics of soluble microbial products from activated sludge via altering expression of cellular metabolism pathways

The effect of heavy metals on soluble microbial products (SMPs) have been widely studied in the activated sludge system. However, their impact on the biofunctions of SMPs remain unclear, which could reflect state of cellular metabolism. In present work, we investigated toxic impact of Cd2+ and Cu2+ on properties of soluble microbial products (SMPs) and cellular metabolism activities via proteomics analysis and genotoxicity. The results indicated all sized fractions in SMPs have been increased by addition of Cd2+ or Cu2+ through altering several cellular metabolic pathways; especially for the appearance of Cu2+. The toxicity of Cd2+ impacted cellular substrate consumption, energy generation, and electron transport activities via changing metabolism and/or degradation of amino acid, while the addition of Cu2+ threated transfer of genetic information and cellular signals, energy generation and storage, and activity of enzymes via affecting metabolic activities of ribonucleic acid, purine, and pyrimidine. Meanwhile, ribosomes played essential roles in toxic resistance under Cd2+ shock, ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters functioned in toxic resistance under Cu2+ shock. In addition, the expression of functional genes grpE, dnaJ, ibpB, and ytfE were specially regulated by Cd2+ shock, and the expression of functional genes grxA, grxB, gst, ahpF, marC, dacB, and pbpG are particularly sensitive to the Cu2+ stress; which confirmed differences in cellular response activities under stressful conditions of toxic Cd2+ and Cu2+. Those findings provided key insights into how toxic metals change cellular metabolism at the molecular level, which would be meaningful to operational control and optimization of biological wastewater treatment.

Deciphering the transfer of hydroclimate signals to tree-ring δ18O using a proxy system model in East Asia's Meiyu region

The stable oxygen isotope ratios of whole tree-ring α-cellulose (δ18OWR) have been interpreted as an indicator of early summer hydroclimate in the Meiyu region of East Asia. However, the underlying physical mechanism often remains unclear. Here we provide a mechanistic understanding through intra-annual tree-ring oxygen isotope analysis and process-based δ18OWR modelling over the period 1979–2006. The selected tree species for analysis is Pinus taiwanensis, whose δ18OWR exhibit the strongest linear relationship with relative humidity (RH) in June. The results indicated that the June RH signal is predominantly contained in tree-ring earlywood rather than latewood. The strong response of δ18OWR to June RH is not due to the legacy effect. Using the proxy system model (PSM) of δ18OWR, we obtained a modeled δ18OWR time series that is significantly positively correlated with the measured δ18OWR time series. The modeled and measured δ18OWR series show similar relationships with monthly RH. Sensitivity experiments with PSM revealed that the June RH signal is originated from the oxygen isotopes of source water and leaf water. Rapid cellulose formation in June plays a role in enhancing the June RH signal. Our study demonstrates how δ18OWR record early summer hydroclimate signals from a process perspective, and that the PSM is effective in modelling the interannual δ18OWR variability in the Meiyu region.